


It's A Classic

by Blizzard96



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-02-06 00:17:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12805479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blizzard96/pseuds/Blizzard96
Summary: A group of boys decide that their stories are overrated and they're going to write their own Happily Ever After's if necessary.





	1. As Long As No One Bursts Into Song

Guanlin frowned as he looked over the day’s schedule. The program read that orientation was a eight a.m sharp, but here he was in an empty auditorium without a single other student in sight. He sighed. This was just his luck. His first day in a new school in a different country and he was already messing up. He was never going to get a good Role at this rate. He scanned the schedule again, wondering if he’d somehow gotten the wrong building despite checking three times since he’d arrived.

“Hello?” Someone called, causing Gualin’s head to snap up. His eyes landed on another boy about his age looking just as uncertain as he was who was crossing the auditorium to him. The other boy gave Guanlin a confident smile only slightly betrayed by the waver in his voice. “Orientation is here, right?” He waved his own schedule.

“I thought so,” Guanlin said, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.

The other boy sighed. “Great. I don’t know where else to go though.”

Guanlin nodded, feeling anxiety grow in his stomach. He’d worked hard to get a scholarship to this college, and now he wasn’t even sure if he’d be let in if he missed orientation. The two of them sat down on the chairs set up in the auditorium.

“I’m Yoo Seonho,” the other boy said, extending a hand.

“Lai Guanlin,” Guanlin replied, shaking the boy’s hand. “This wasn’t really how I planned on starting my college career.”

Seonho grinned. “You’re telling me. I’ve wanted to come here for so long and get a great Role, but this seems like a bad omen.” They waited in the auditorium for ten minutes discussing the preliminary classes and what kinds of Roles they might get. “I’ve always wanted to be a Hunter. That would be a really cool Role. My dad was one,” he said proudly. “And my mom was a Snow White, obviously.”

Guanlin nodded. “My mom was a Rapunzel.”

“Ah,” Seonho said, giving Guanlin a once over. “You do have good hair.”

The auditorium door swung open before Guanlin could properly get out a thank you. A lone man shuffled in carrying a heavy looking box of equipment. Guanlin and Seonho both rushed over to him, stuffing their programs away in their pockets.

“Do you need some help with that?”Guanlin asked, getting the man’s attention. The man managed to look over the box of supplies and offered Guanlin a smile.

“If you wouldn’t mind?” he said, nodding his head toward a teetering microphone that looked like it was on the verge of falling out. Guanlin grabbed some of the equipment from the box while Seonho coiled up some of the wires trailing behind the man lest he trip over them. They followed him to the podium at the front of the auditorium, and the man heaved the box onto the edge of the stage with a grunt. “Not as young as I used to be,” the man said with a wry grin. He turned back to the two boys. “Thanks for your help. You can just leave the equipment next to the box. I need to get it all set up anyway.” The boys dropped the equipment off and stepped back, unsure of what to do next.

“Uh,” Guanlin began, “Is the orientation here?” 

The man raised an eyebrow. “Yes, in an hour I believe. Wasn’t it on your schedule?” 

Guanlin pulled his schedule out to show the man. “It says eight on here, but it was eight twenty minutes ago.” Seonho nodded in confirmation, pulling out his own schedule.

“Oh no,” the man muttered, eyes darting over their papers. “We reprinted those schedules earlier, but there must have been some of the old ones still mixed in. I’ll call the check-in area and let them know about that.” He made an apologetic face. “I’m afraid you boys still have some time until we start the presentation. There’s a Starbucks right next door, or you can stay here if you want.”

Guanlin looked at Seonho, who shrugged. “I’ll stay here,” Seonho said. “I don’t think caffeine is a good idea for me right now.”

The man smiled sympathetically. “Are you two worried about your Roles? Don’t be. They’ll be over before you know it, and then you can get your Happily Ever After.”

“Did you finish your Role?” Guanlin asked.

The man nodded, beginning to unload the box on stage. “I was a Sleeping Beauty. Some people say it’s the easiest Role out there, but my True Love was pretty useless and got eaten by the dragon after waking me up.” He rolled his eyes. “Had to kill the thing myself. Luckily, the dragon didn’t melt the sword with its fire.” He laughed, but it died down quickly when he saw both boys staring at him in horror. “But I’m sure that’s an outlier case! You two probably won’t have to do anything like that,” he backpedaled.

Guanlin felt his stomach sinking. He hadn’t realized Roles could go so horribly wrong. Would he even have a chance at Happily Ever After?

“Is this your Happily Ever After then?” Seonho asked, recovering first.

The man paused in his assembling of a mic stand and scrunched up his face. He glanced around the auditorium, but it was only the three of them. He still lowered his voice, “I’m technically not supposed to tell you this, but Happily Ever After isn’t always what they say it’s going to be.” The man smiled. “It’s whatever makes you happy, so keep an open mind. I know plenty of people who are still in their Roles, but live fulfilling lives. You don’t need to follow the Story to the letter.”

Guanlin turned the words over in his head. All his life, he’d expected to go to college, get a Role, finish his Story and get a generic Happily Ever After with a partner and maybe some kids like his parents had, but now it seemed like that wasn’t the only ending possible. “I’ll keep that in mind,” Guanlin said genuinely.

The man beamed at him. “Good. It was something I wish I’d known when I started my Role.”

“By the way,” Guanlin said, “What’s your name?”

The man’s eyes widened. “Where are my manners? My name is Yoon Jisung. I teach Storyline Improv.” He gave the boys another wide smile. “If you’re both first years then I’ll probably have you in my class. Don’t hesitate to come to me with any questions about your Roles.” The boys nodded and bowed one final time before scurrying to the back of the auditorium.

“The professor seems nice,” Seonho commented optimistically.

Guanlin nodded. For the first time that day, he felt good about where he was at.

 

* * *

 

Minhyun felt a tap on his shoulder, and he looked up from his lunch to see a boy with a wide grin waving at him. The boy had a white board propped up on a cafeteria tray in front of him with the words ‘Is this seat taken?’ written on it as he pointed to the seat beside Minhyun at the table. Minhyun shook his head. “It’s free.”

The boy sat down in relief, dropping his tray to the table and wiping his white board clean with a dirty rag before pulling out a dry erase marked from his pocket. ‘Thank goodness. I can’t seem to find a spot in this cafeteria.’

Minhyun looked around to see it was more crowded than usual. “I think one of the frats organized an event and then they all decided to eat lunch afterwards.”

The boy let out a huff of air that might have been a groan or a laugh before writing on the board again. ‘Figures.’

“Little Mermaid?” Minhyun asked, looking pointedly at the boy’s white board.

The boy nodded enthusiastically, writing so fast that the words became sloppy. ‘It’s a real pain! I have so much to say and now I can’t talk unless I find my True Love,’ the boy rolled his eyes as he cleaned the slate. ‘It’s nonsense. Why should I have to set back my music career because of some dumb Role?’

Minhyun blinked. “You want to make music?” It was unusual for students to have aspirations other than completing their Role in hopes of getting their Happily Ever After.

The boy nodded enthusiastically, smile wide. ‘I’ve dreamed of it since I was a kid! I was in choir for all of grade school.’ His face dropped. ‘I get why I was given this Role, but I just want to make music _now_. If my True Love is really out there, they could at least hurry up.’ 

Minhyun tried not to laugh at the boy’s petulant expression. “I’m sure they’ll turn up sooner or later. Until then, have you taken any music classes around campus?”

The boy paused to drop his fork from where he was shoveling food into his mouth and pick up the marker. ‘I take composition classes. The professor is really understanding about these kinds of things.’

“That’s good then,” Minhyun said. There was a silence when Minhyun realized something. “Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Hwang Minhyun.”

‘Kim Jaehwan,’ the boy scrawled back, giving Minhyun a cheesy thumbs up. ‘Want any?’ he gestured to the dessert on his tray.

“No thanks,” Minhyun declined, “I only trust the food I bring. It’s nothing personal.” Jaehwan quirked an eyebrow. “Snow White,” Minhyun clarified. It might be his Story to someday fall into a coma until his True Love found him, but Minhyun would be damned if that happened before he was good and ready for it.

Jaehwan opened his mouth wide in silent laughter that seemed to shake his whole body. Minhyun found himself wondering exactly what that laughter might sound like.

 

* * *

 

Sungwoon readjusted his scarf and sighed heavily at the boy in front of him. “I just don’t think your heart’s really in it. Maybe we should try again tomorrow.”

“No, I’m going to get it right,” Daniel replied stubbornly, screwing up his face. He took in a deep breath before letting out a blast of air, ruffling Sungwoon’s clothes and sending his scarf flying. Despite his efforts the replica house still stood firm, as if taunting the two of them. Daniel’s shoulders slumped. “Why can’t I do it properly? I followed what all the lessons said I need to do! The ”

“Hey, it’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Sungwoon said, patting his friend on the back. “You’ll get it eventually. Soon you’ll be blowing down houses in no time.”

Daniel bit his lip. “Maybe that’s the problem,” he said. Sungwoon gave him a confused look. “I don’t want to blow down someone’s house! They probably worked really hard on it! And isn’t property damage illegal? Why do I get to violate that rule because of my Role? It just doesn’t seem fair.”

Sungwoon tried not to laugh. Instead of looking like a Big Bad Wolf, Daniel just looked like a kicked puppy with his pouting. “You could apply for a Role change,” Sungwoon suggested.

“It’s already been three years in college,” Daniel muttered, running his fingers through his hair. “Isn’t it too late to change now?”

Sungwoon hummed. “I don't know, but wouldn’t you rather do something you like to do and get the Happily Ever After you want?”

“I guess,” Daniel said. “I’ll just keep trying this for a little longer, but I’ll think about it. Thanks.” He smiled at his elder gratefully.

“No problem,” Sungwoon replied, tightening his scarf. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have go figure out what the hell it means to tame a fox and whether that was a literal Role requirement or something metaphorical again.”

 

* * *

 

Jinyoung opened the door and immediately narrowed his eyes at the two boys in front of him. “Whatever it is, I don’t want any part of it. Goodbye.”

“Wait!” Jihoon cried, shoving his foot in between the door and the frame before Jinyoung could fully shut it. “We’re just holding a small get together in our dorm room.”

“We would really appreciate it if you came,” Woojin added with a smile.

“It’s gonna be fun,” they chorused in unison, sending a chill down Jinyoung’s spine.

“Stop doing that,” he ordered. “You two aren’t even twins.” Though he did grimace at their matching pink sweats.

“But our Roles are,” Woojin defended.

“Don’t remind me about your Roles,” Jinyoung muttered. “They still creep me out.”

“Why?” Jihoon asked, tilting his head.

“Your Roles are to literally eat candy all day and shove a woman into an oven,” Jinyoung deadpanned.

“To be fair, she’s going to try to eat us first,” Woojin replied.

“Nope!” Jinyoung said. “Don’t wanna hear about it!”

“But you’re coming to the party though, right?” Jihoon asked, diverting Jinyoung’s attention. “Please? We’ll order a pizza.”

Jinyoung sighed, realizing there was no way the two of them would give up. “Fine. But I won’t be happy about it.”

Woojin smiled mischievously. “Maybe you should just…let it go.” The two boys cackled and ran away from Jinyoung’s door just as Jinyoung felt ice began to spread from where his hand met the frame. He let out a growl and slammed the door shut, sending ice and snow flying everywhere.

 

* * *

 

“I expect this all cleaned up by dinner time, or else you can sleep in the cupboard again,” Daehwi’s stepmother said, regarding the boy with a cold expression. His two stepsisters sneered at him, though one of them looked a little uncomfortable about it. She was younger than Daehwi even and probably still insecure in her Role, though Daehwi found it hard to feel too bad for the girl when she kicked over the water bucket Daehwi had been using to scrub the floor.

The trio were gone in a swish of skirts, leaving Daehwi to get up and refill his bucket so he could continue cleaning the floor. He sighed as he ran the tap and waited for the bucket to fill. He’d been so sure that he was ready to take on his Role even though he’d barely been assigned it, but now he wasn’t certain it was worth it.

Once he was done adding soap, he returned to scrubbing the floor, thinking all kinds of nasty things about his step sisters and step mother while darkly considering whether he even wanted to go to a ball and find his True Love at all. “What a bunch of crap,” Daehwi muttered, scrubbing at the stone floors (who even had stone floors in this day and age?) with a brush.

“Cinderella is one of the most esteemed Roles,” Daehwi said mockingly in a high pitched imitation of his college advisor. “You’re lucky you got it.” He splashed the brush back into the soapy water before scrubbing again. “Your Storyline is a true classic and-“

“Yo!” Daehwi’s head jerked up to see a boy with brown hair and sparkly blue clothes smirking at him. “No need to worry, your resident fairy godmother Ong Seongwoo is here to save the day!” He flourished his hand dramatically, sending a spray of sparks fluttering down.

Daehwi blinked, brush dropping from his hands. There was a drawn out pause as Daehwi regarded the man, but Seongwoo’s expression never faltered. “Well, it’s about damn time,” Daehwi finally said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Seongwoo laughed. “Sorry. I had to retake the magic final, but now I’m fully certified to get you to your True Love!” he lowered his voice “As long as you follow all the arbitrary time based rules and curfews.”

“What?” Daehwi asked with a frown.

“What?” Seongwoo echoed, still smiling.

Daehwi shook his head. “You know what? It doesn’t matter.”

“Great!” Seongwoo exclaimed clapping his hands together. “You ready to stop bibbidi bobbidi bitching and get some revenge?”


	2. The Fairest of Them All

“There must be some mistake,” Guanlin said, staring at the paper bearing his results with despair. “I’m not a witch!”

His guidance counselor sighed, regarding the boy with a pitying look. “I’m sorry, these results were decided by your personality and ability test scores along with magical consultations. According to those, you’re a perfect fit for the Role.”

Guanlin bit his lip. “It’s just… I don’t want to be the villain.”

The counselor’s gaze softened a bit. “Look, if you get your general classes out of the way first, you can request a Role change at the beginning of the next semester. You won’t even learn that much about your Role your first semester anyway, just the basics of magic. I’m sorry, that’s the best I can tell you.”

Guanlin finally nodded in defeat and stuffed the paper in his sling bag. “Thank you.” His counselor offered him one last smile as he handed the boy a copy of his school schedule.

“Who knows? It might be more interesting than you think. I know a lot of students with your Role that ended up loving the Ending they got.”

The door shut behind Guanlin with an air of finality. Seonho offered Guanlin a sympathetic pat on the back before heading into the counselor's office. Guanlin took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. He wasn’t going to give up on his dream that easily. Maybe he was a witch, but he was going to be the best damn witch this school had ever seen. Since he had no idea where to really start with that, he should probably give Jisung a call.

 

* * *

 

Sungwoon stared at his Role objective list blankly. In the three years he’d been in college, he’d managed to complete two of the requirements toward a Happily Ever After, but a number still eluded him. It didn’t help that his Role was one of the most unclear metaphorical Stories he’d ever heard of. The third requirement on his list taunted him.

_Tame a fox._

“What does that even mean?” Sungwoon groaned in despair falling forward to let his head bang on the library table, subsequently burying his head in his scarf. He heard someone ‘shh’ him, but he couldn’t be bothered to lift his head up and apologize. Someone pushed his shoulder lightly. “What?” he muttered, muffled from the fabric. The push became more insistent until Sungwoon finally raised his head to see Jaehwan staring down at him. “Oh, it’s you.” He’d met Jaehwan in his second year during a school open mic night. They’d both discussed composition briefly using Jaehwan’s whiteboard and stayed in touch ever since.

Jaehwan offered him a wave. ‘What’s wrong?’ He had written on his whiteboard. Sungwoon let out a long suffering sigh as Jaehwan dropped into the seat across from him.

“Just my Role objectives,” Sungwoon said, pulling the list out of his pocket. “You’d think after all these years they’d actually make sense, but apparently this Role is still too obscure.”

Jaehwan shrugged. ‘What’s the objective?’

“Another metaphor if I had to guess,” Sungwoon replied. “Like trying to find a rose wasn’t enough.”

‘At least you never have to find a True Love,’ Jaehwan wrote, rolling his eyes. ‘If I hear that one more time I might lose it.’

Sungwoon nodded. “I guess you’re right in that respect. But I don’t want to think about Roles anymore. What’s new with you?”

Jaehwan scribbled rapidly. ‘I met someone today. Hwang Minhyun.’

Sungwoon’s eyebrows shot up. “The campus enigma?” he asked. Jaehwan cocked his head to the side, gesturing for Sungwoon to elaborate. “You don’t know? No one knows what his Role is.”

‘He said he was a Snow White,’ Jaehwan wrote, looking confused.

“He changes his answer every time he’s asked,” Sungwoon replied. 

Jaehwan pouted. ‘I think he was telling the truth,’ he replied.

Sungwoon shrugged. “I don’t know. He sometimes brings his own food like some Snow White’s do, but he also takes physical fitness classes with the Hunters, home economics with the Cinderella’s, and everything in between. No one knows what his Role is except for his closest friends, and good luck getting them to tell you.”

The mute boy’s brow furrowed before he broke out into a wide grin. ‘I’m going to get to the bottom of this,’ he wrote determinedly.

Sungwoon rolled his eyes. “You do that.”

‘And you’re going to help me!’ Jaehwan continued confidently.

“Oh yeah?” Sungwoon asked, raising an eyebrow, “and why would I do that?”

‘Because even though his Role is hazy, I’ve heard a number of students call him a fox,’ Jaehwan writes smugly, tapping Sungwoon’s Role list.

Sungwoon froze, eyes narrowing. It was possible that Minhyun wasn’t related to his Role objectives at all, but given how unclear his previous task had been, Sungwoon wouldn’t be surprised. “Damn you.” 

Jaehwan doubled over in silent laughter.

 

* * *

 

“I told you this was a bad idea!” Jinyoung hissed, crouching down below the window frame. “I thought it was a get together, not breaking and entering!”

“Relax,” Jihoon assured him in a tone that did nothing to settle Jinyoung’s nerves. “We know Daehwi, so it’s not really breaking and entering if we’re just picking up a friend.”

“Not if he doesn’t own the house,” Jinyoung mumbled. Jihoon and Woojin ignored him as they peeped over the edge of the window frame.

“Coast is clear,” Woojin stage whispered, sliding the frame up and performing an ungraceful roll into the living room. Jihoon wiggled in after him and, with one final plea heavenward, Jinyoung followed reluctantly. A small blessing was that he at least managed to land on a soft carpet. Jihoon had not been as lucky and was currently nursing a sore tailbone after landing on the stone part of the floor.

“Where’s your friend?” Jinyoung whispered. The other two boys exchanged sheepish looks before shrugging in unison. “Really?!”

“We haven’t seen him since before he got his Role!” Woojin protested. “Give us a break!”

“Oh, I’ll definitely break something,” Jinyoung muttered, trying to get ahold of himself as the room temperature began to drop.

“Whoa!” a voice yelled, making them all freeze (metaphorically). Jinyoung turned around slowly, anticipating everything from a Princess to a Beast since Jihoon and Woojin had omitted exactly what Role their friend had, only to find an amused looking man with a juice box grinning at them.

“Um, I can explain,” Jinyoung began, eyes darting to Woojin and Jihoon, “It was their idea.”

“Hey!” Jihoon protested with a frown.

The man laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to rat you out to the university.” He took a long sip from the juice box. “But how did you all even get off campus, much less into someone’s story?” He dropped the now empty juice box, but it vanished into thin air before it hit the ground.

“We know a lot of backways,” Woojin said.

“Hansel and Gretel,” Jinyoung added, pointing to Jihoon and Woojin. 

The man’s face cleared. “Ah, makes sense.” He frowned. “But what doesn’t make sense is why you’re here.”

“We came to pick up our friend,” Jihoon said. There was a sound of footsteps rushing down the hall, and suddenly a frazzled looking boy tumbled into the room.

“Jihoon, Woojin, what are you doing here?!” the boy yelped, eyes landing on the two boys.

“Daehwi!” the other two cried in unison, rushing over to their friend. “We wanted to have you over for our get together!”

“We haven’t seen you in a year,” Woojin whined. “We thought you’d forgotten about us.”

Daehwi sighed. “I just wanted to get the Role over with. I’d hoped to be done within the year, but,” he turned to the other man with narrowed eyes, “someone took longer to get here than expected.”

The man shrugged, unbothered. “I’m here now, and that’s what matters.”

“Um,” Jinyoung began, getting everyone in the room’s attention, “What the hell is going on?”

Daehwi blinked, staring at Jinyoung for a second before flushing. “Sorry, who are you?”

“This is Jinyoung,” Jihoon said, waving a hand at Jinyoung. “He’s our neighbor at the university.”

“Unfortunately,” Jinyoung muttered. He was cut off from whining any more when there were a series of noises from the floor above them.

“Oh shit,” Daehwi muttered, eyes darting to the hallway behind him. “You all have to leave. Now!” He started shoving Jihoon and Woojin toward the windows.

“What’s wrong?” Jinyoung asked, taking a small amount of satisfaction as Jihoon was unceremoniously shoved through the window frame.

“It’s my step mother,” Daehwi replied, eyes frantic. “She’ll kill me if she knows you’re here.” Suddenly the pieces clicked into place.

“Cinderella!” Jinyoung exclaimed, perhaps a little louder than necessary. Daehwi rushed to cover his mouth.

“Shhh!!”

“Daehwi!” A shrill female voice yelled. “Daehwi, is that you making all that racket at this hour?!”

Daehwi squeaked and turned to the other man whose name Jinyoung still didn’t know. “Can’t you magic them out of here or something?!”

The man crossed his arms, looking unbothered by the urgency in Daehwi’s voice. “My magic is limited to turning produce and rodents into transportation.”

“What good are you then?!” Daehwi asked, throwing his hands up.

“Daehwi!” the woman’s voice came again. “I asked if that was you! Do you want to sleep in the tool shed again?!” the voice was getting louder and closer.

“Go!” Daehwi yelled, subtlety forgotten, shoving Woojin out. He looked at Jinyoung helplessly.

“Come with us,” Jinyoung said impulsively. He knew the rules that no one should stop a Story once it was in progress, but Jinyoung had never been a fan of how much some people suffered in their Roles before their Happily Ever After. If this was truly Cinderella’s story, then the small boy in front of him had doubtlessly suffered at the hands of his family.

“I can’t do that!” Daehwi protested, looking scandalized.

“Daehwi!” The voice yelled, sounding like it was just outside the room. Daehwi made a whine in the back of his throat, and the pure fear in his eyes made up Jinyoung’s mind for him. Without a second thought, he grabbed Daehwi’s hand and dragged them both out of the window, freezing it shut behind them, and running toward the edge of the woods where Woojin and Jihoon were waiting.

“Oh my god,” Daehwi chanted the whole time they were running. “I left my story! Oh my god!”

“Did you actually take him?!” Jihoon exclaimed when he saw the two of them running up to the woods.

“Wasn’t that your plan?” Jinyoung countered. He realized he was still holding Daehwi’s hand and dropped it quickly. 

“You guys are crazy,” a voice laughed. Jinyoung whirled around to see the man from earlier appear in a shower of sparks. 

“Some help you were,” Daehwi frowned, crossing his arms. “You just stood there!”

“Shockingly, my classes didn’t cover what to do if you got kidnapped by three college kids,” the fairy godmother said, rolling his eyes.

“What am I going to do now?” Daehwi muttered, running a hand through his hair. Jinyoung felt bad for the kid as the consequences started to sink in though, for some reason, he still didn’t feel guilty for pulling the boy next to him out of his Story. Not even his Story Improv classes had offered any tips for what to do when someone abandoned their Story. That just didn’t happen.

“Maybe you can get your story reset?” Jihoon offered.

Daehwi shook his head. “My life is over,” he muttered, covering his face. Jinyoung patted his back awkwardly.

“Well!” the fairy godmother said, clapping his hands together, “Can’t do anything just standing around in the woods! Let’s just head back to campus and tell them what happened. Maybe they’ll think of something. I’m sure this has happened before.”

Daehwi sighed before he started to grin slowly. “Hey Seongwoo,” he said casually, eyeing his fairy godmother with a strange glint in his eyes.

“Yes?” the fairy godmother, Seongwoo apparently, replied hesitantly as he picked up on the shift in atmosphere.

“You said you could turn produce into transportation, right?” Daehwi asked innocently.

“Um technically, but like I said, I failed the final the first time and-“

Daehwi threw a handful of carrots on the ground from his pocket. “I want a Ferrari.”

Seongwoo gaped at him. “What?” he finally managed.

Daehwi’s eyes flicked down to the carrots. “Make me a Ferrari. Now.”

“We usually just made carriages in class,” Seongwoo said, eyeing the vegetables. “And we had larger food.”

“This is what we have to work with,” Daehwi replied crossing his arms. “Or can you not even do that?”

Seongwoo looked ready to protest, but sighed. “Fine. I’ll see what I can do.”

 

* * *

 

“Gotta be scary,” Daniel muttered, frowning down at his reflection in the mirror. “Scary.” He bared his teeth, but didn’t look any more intimidating. He sighed.

“You’re trying too hard,” the mirror said, making Daniel jump back with a stifled scream.

“What the-?!” he shrieked.

“Ah, sorry,” the mirror apologized. “We haven’t met before, have we?”

“I! You! What?!” Daniel babbled, unable to get a full sentence out. He glanced around the bathroom as if there might be a speaker system or something he’d somehow missed. Unfortunately, there was nothing like that leaving the options that either the mirror was actually talking to him, or Daniel was finally losing his marbles.

“This is my Role,” the mirror replied, oblivious to Daniel’s distress. Daniel imagined if the mirror had a face it would be raising an eyebrow. “The magic mirror.”

Daniel frowned, heart rate slowing at the mirror’s explanation. “That…sucks.”

The mirror laughed. “You’re telling me.”

“So…” Daniel trailed off wondering if questions about the mirror’s Role were too personal. “Are you like… shapeshifted into a mirror until you complete your Role?”

“No, thankfully,” the mirror snorted. “I have a human body, but I’m stuck like this when I’m asleep. When I’m awake, I adopt the Role of whoever I reflected in my dreams.”

Daniel blinked. “So you’ll have my Role today?” he asked.

“Yes,” the mirror confirmed, sounding a bit put out. “Believe me, I’m not looking forward to the fangs today.”

“Huh,” Daniel said. He thought for a minute. “So do you usually give people advice in your sleep.”

“Not really,” the mirror said. “Usually I just observe unless it’s someone I know, but you seemed kinda down.”

Daniel sighed as he remembered how useless he was at his Role. “Yeah. I’m never going to be able to finish my Story properly.”

“Don’t say that,” the mirror said. “You’ve got a lot of potential.”

“I hope so,” Daniel muttered. “I’ve been doing this for years and I still can’t even manage to blow a house down.”

“Keep at it,” the mirror said encouragingly. “Some skills are a lot harder for some people than others. Trust me, I’ve tried a lot of skills.”

Daniel gave the mirror a small grin. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it,” the mirror replied. “I have to go. I’m waking up soon.”

“Hey, what’s your name?” Daniel asked. “Like, your human name?”

“You can just call me the mirror,” the mirror replied. “If we see each other in person, I’ll let you know.”

 

* * *

 

Minhyun jolted awake to the sound of his room mate pounding on his door. “Get up!” Minki yelled. “We’re going to be late for class!”

Minhyun sprung into action, flying out the door past his stunned friend to the shower. He scrubbed quickly and rushed back into his room to get properly dressed. “I told you to wake me up earlier today!” Minhyun yelled to his friend as he tugged his shirt on. He glanced at his phone and cursed as the time screamed he only had ten minutes to get to class when the walk took fifteen.

“My alarm didn’t go off,” Minki replied, crossing his arms. “Are you ready yet?”

“Almost,” Minhyun grunted. He tried futilely to smooth down his hair in the mirror and grimaced, pulling his lips back to expose pointed teeth. Goddamn Kang Daniel.

“Whoa,” Minki said as Minhyun stormed out of the room and grabbed his backpack. “What’s got you in such a foul mood this morning?” Minhyun bared his teeth in response, and Minki laughed. Traitor. “You’ve gotta show Jonghyun that,” Minki said gleefully.

Minhyun shook his head. “If all goes well, I won’t have to talk today,” he said grimly. He also decided against telling Minki about his newfound craving for pork and hoped he wouldn't have to sneeze that day.


	3. Magic is a Crap Shoot

“You are the most useless fairy godmother ever,” Daehwi grumbled, adjusting his handlebars as they peddled their bright orange bikes in a line back to campus. Seongwoo was in the front leading the way back, followed by Daehwi, Jinyoung, and finally Jihoon and Woojin. Daehwi was a little nervous letting the troublemakers bring up the end of the line but he tried not to think about it, instead choosing to glower at Seongwoo’s back.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Seongwoo said, sounding offended from his place in front of Daehwi. “Do you know how hard magic is? We’re lucky we got any kind of transportation out of those carrots. And even if I had made a carriage, we would’ve had no animals to pull it with.”

“Couldn’t you have at least made something like a motorcycle?” Daehwi asked. “My thighs are burning.”

“Well, then maybe you should work out more,” Seongwoo sniped back.

“Forgive me for not hitting the gym while I was locked in my house and forced to clean all day,” Daehwi said, narrowing his eyes at Seongwoo’s back. The other boy didn’t say anything in retaliation, so Daehwi assumed he’d won that round.

“For what it’s worth,” someone said, coming up on Daehwi’s right. Daehwi looked over to see Jinyoung keeping pace with him. “We didn’t mean for any of this to happen. Or I assume we didn’t.” The boy looked over his shoulder to presumably glare at Jihoon and Woojin.

Daehwi sighed. “It’s okay. I mean, it’s not, but I know you didn’t mean for this to happen.” They peddled in silence for a few minutes. “What do you think is going to happen next?” Daehwi finally said, defeated.

Jinyoung gave him a grimace. “I don’t know. I’ve never heard of something like this happening before, not even in my Story Improv class.”

“It’ll be fine,” Seongwoo assured him, evidently having been eavesdropping on their conversation. “I’m sure they’ll just reset your story, and next time I’ll show up sooner so you can get to your Happily Ever After.”

Daehwi nodded, unconvinced. “Yeah.” They continued on.

 

* * *

 

‘Is this seat taken?’ Minhyun looked up from where he was studying in the library to see a familiar face grinning at him and waving a whiteboard in his line of vision. Jaehwan was pointing to the empty chair across the table. Minhyun was struck by a sense of deja vu.

“No, it’s free,” he said, and Jaehwan slid into the chair. Minhyun hoped wildly that maybe Jaehwan was actually going to study and leave Minhyun alone, but he doubted that would be the case when Jaehwan gave him a mischievous smile.

‘So,’ Jaehwan wrote, and Minhyun felt dread grow in his stomach, ‘I heard a rumor about you.’

Minhyun raised an eyebrow. “Did you?” Honestly there were so many rumors swirling around the campus (a good amount about him), that he couldn’t even muster up a surprised expression at the news.

Jaehwan nodded, wiping a rag over his whiteboard. ‘What’s your Role?’

Minhyun sighed. He should have seen this coming. As soon as people heard that he constantly changed his Role, they would pester him for a few days before finally giving up when they realized the weren’t going to hear anything about it from him or any of his friends. “Cinderella,” he replied blandly.

‘That’s not what you said last time!’ Jaehwan wrote quickly, the letters becoming sloppy in his haste to get them out. ‘You said you were a Snow White!’

“Ah, did I?” Minhyun said.

‘YES,’ Jaehwan wrote in all caps.

“I see.” He tried not grin as Jaehwan blew out a breath in frustration. Usually Minhyun just sent people asking questions away with a few polite but firm words, but for some reason he felt like teasing Jaehwan. The boy’s expressions were just too exaggerated and amusing.

‘What’s your real role?’ Jaehwan asked, the word ‘real’ underlined twice.

Minhyun shrugged. “What do you think it is?” It wasn’t like Minhyun couldn’t talk about it, he just preferred not to so he could avoid the inevitable awkward questions about his dreams. Yes, he had seen things he would never be able to unsee and no, he didn’t want to talk about it.

“Jaehwan!” a voice yelled, ringing through the library. There were immediately five different shushing noises, but that didn’t stop the boy who had appeared in the library entrance and made a beeline for Minhyun’s table. Minhyun sighed, would he never get his paper done for _Magical Creatures and Sidekicks_?

“Jaehwan,” the boy hissed again, though much quieter this time. Minhyun took in the boy’s appearance, looking like any other college student except for the thick scarf wrapped around his neck. He hoped that scarf was part of the other boy’s Role, since it was far too warm in the library to be reasonable otherwise. “Why on earth did you insist on texting me about an emergency in the middle of my class?”

‘This is Hwang Minhyun,’ Jaehwan wrote excitedly, gesturing across the table.

The other boy sighed. “Yes, I know. Everyone knows who Hwang Minhyun is.”

“Should I be flattered?” Minhyun asked, amused by how disgruntled the new arrival looked.

The boy snorted. “That’s up to you. I’m Sungwoon by the way. Sorry that Jaehwan’s been bothering you. I just mentioned how no one knows your Role, but now he won’t stop talking, er, writing about it.” He gave Minhyun an apologetic look, but Minhyun waved him off.

“He’s far from the first person to do so,” Minhyun said. At least Jaehwan had been nicer about it than some of the other more curious college students.

“Still,” Sungwoon said. He tapped Jaehwan on the shoulder. “We should stop bothering him.” Jaehwan pouted wordlessly, but Sungwoon remained firm. With a very dramatic sigh, Jaehwan grabbed his backpack and slung the straps over his shoulders before grabbing his whiteboard and marker.

‘I’ll figure it out,’ he wrote.

“We’ll see,” Minhyun replied, smiling wryly. Sungwoon gave Minhyun one last look, like Minhyun was some kind of riddle, before he pulled his friend out of the library while Jaehwan waved the whole time. Minhyun shook his head before picking up his pencil again. It looked like he’d be seeing the other boys again even if he didn’t want to.

 

* * *

 

“Ah, Guanlin,” Jisung said, looking up from his laptop to see the first year shifting from foot to foot in front of his desk. “I didn’t expect to see you at my office hours so soon. You seem to be keeping up in class fine, but is there something else you want to talk about?”

“Yes,” the boy replied hesitantly. “How many people do you know that have applied for a Role change?”

Jisung raised an eyebrow. “Personally? Two, but there are plenty of students that change in the span of their college years.” Guanlin nodded. “Are you considering one already?” It wasn’t unheard of for first years to change their Roles, but it was rare.

Guanlin rubbed the back of his neck. “Maybe. I didn’t want to be a villain when I came here.”

“I see,” Jisung said. Getting a villain’s Role wasn’t common, usually meaning that those story spots were filled by either volunteers who had already gotten their Happily Ever Afters or children too young to get their own Roles yet. “Are any of your villain classes giving you trouble?”

The boy was quick to shake his head. “No, no, all the other professors are great. I love my magic classes and all the general courses are pretty interesting.”

“Any of the other students?” Jisung asked worriedly. Occasionally he had heard about students with villain Roles being bullied by others, but the university tried to crack down on that.

“No,” Guanlin said. “It’s just… I don’t like being mean. And I definitely don’t want to try and kill a couple kids or get thrown in an oven.”

Jisung blinked. “Ah,” he said. He gave the boy a smile. “Well, Roles like yours can be difficult, especially if you feel like you have to behave in a way that goes against your beliefs. And I hope you realize we have security measures in place to prevent the oven thing from being lethal.” Guanlin nodded, but didn’t look too comforted by that. He thought for a moment. “You know, there’s actually a club on campus for people with Roles like yours, though it’s more of a support group. It’s called the Villains and Associated Alliance. Why don’t you try going sometime? It might help to get some input from other people in your position. The teacher who supervises it was actually a witch like you.”

Guanlin perked up at that. “Really?” Jisung nodded. “Alright, I’ll go to that.”

“Good,” Jisung said, beaming. “They meet every Thursday evening at 6 and they provide dinner. I hope this helps.”

 

* * *

 

Daniel looked up from his pizza slice when someone he’d never seen before walk through the club room door. The kid was nervous, quite obviously a first year, and his eyes darted around the group as if not knowing where to go. Daniel put on his best welcoming smile when the kid’s eyes landed on him, and he motioned for the kid to join him near the pizza boxes. He remembered how nervous he had been when he first arrived at the club. The boy shuffled over.

“Hey!” Daniel greeted him. “I haven’t seen you before! First time at the Villains and Associated Alliance? My name’s Kang Daniel.”

“Yeah,” the boy confirmed. “Lai Guanlin. I’m, uh, a witch.”

Daniel nodded. “Ah, cool. That’s what our supervisor’s Role was. She couldn’t make it today, but I’m sure she’ll be in next time if you stick around.” He gave Guanlin an apologetic smile. “Oh right, I’m a Big Bad Wolf. Want some pizza?”

Guanlin looked down at the slices and blinked. “Can I? I haven’t registered yet.”

“It’s fine,” Daniel said, waving a hand. “We always order too much anyway. This one’s a meat pizza, but we have vegetarian options too.” Guanlin nodded and piled a couple of slices on a paper plate as he followed Daniel around the room, the latter introducing Guanlin to other club members.

“Basically,” Daniel said, “this place is mainly for everyone who has problems getting into their Villain Role, but we also offer assistance for those whose Roles have them doing some morally gray things and sometimes math tutoring.”

“Math tutoring?” Guanlin asked, raising an eyebrow.

Daniel shrugged. “You can’t tell me math isn’t evil. So what specifically brings you here, Guanlin?”

The boy sighed. “I just didn’t expect to get a villain’s Role when I came here. I’m from out of the country, and I guess I expected to have a better experience or at least a Role that wasn’t an evil one.”

“Oh,” Daniel said sympathetically. “That sounds rough. When our supervisor gets back, I’m sure she’ll have better advice than me, but I can tell you that having a villain’s Role is only as bad as you let it be.” He adopted a thoughtful expression. “When I got my Role first year, I immediately wanted to change, but I’ve stuck with it until now because of how dedicated I saw my classmates were. They all worked really hard to excel in their Roles, and it was super inspiring. In fact, there was actually a student who came from a family whose Roles were all villainous ones, and he was proud to be a villain.”

“Really?” Guanlin asked.

“Yeah,” Daniel said. “It was the first time I’d heard of something like that, but it helped me realize that there’s really no difference between our Roles and the more heroic ones. You may need to rethink your goals for now, but there’s no reason to be ashamed of your Role.” He coughed. “Unless you really suck at it like me,” he added with a wry grin.

Guanlin laughed. “I’m sure you’re not that bad,” he said.

“Oh, you’d be surprised,” Daniel said grimly, “But that’s not the point. The point is in this club we all support each other, so if you ever have problems with your classes or need someone to talk to, we’re all here to help.”

Guanlin smiled, feeling a lot better than he had been ever since receiving his Role. “Thanks.”

“So, are we going to see you next week then?” Daniel asked, looking hopeful.

Guanlin thought a moment before nodding. “Yeah. I’ll be back.”


End file.
